The subject matter disclosed herein relates to water systems. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to potable water systems utilizing conformal-shaped water storage tanks.
Many applications, such passenger aircraft, passenger trains, or the like often include potable water systems to provide water for use by passengers during operation. In an aircraft, for example, some potable water systems include a large water storage tank which is pressurized with air. The air typically is bleed air from an auxiliary power unit or is provided by a standalone air compressor for the potable water system. Aircraft operators typically desire the tank to maximize water volume storage capability, while also minimizing interior aircraft space utilized by the water storage tank. For this reason, the water storage tank is often made to an irregular or conformal shape, meant to fit in an irregular-shaped space allotted for the water storage tank at the interior of the aircraft. When pressurized, however, it is difficult to maintain the conformal shape of the water storage tank as the pressure inside the tank attempts to force the tank into a spherical shape. As such, it is required to form the tank from high-strength pressure resistant materials, and it may also be necessary to include external and/or internal structural reinforcement or baffles to the tank to maintain the tank shape when the tank is pressurized. As a result, the water storage tank adversely affects the cost and weight of the potable water system.